The Family Had Split, Why Should I Care if They Go Broke? - Chapter 14

Lady Zhao stormed in, her tone sharp and laced with sarcasm.

“Oh, so our third sister-in-law bought a chicken, not to eat at home, but to go cook it somewhere else. What’s the meaning of that? Are you looking down on us, afraid we might get a share of it?”

Zeng Xiaoyan instantly flared up.

“It’s my money, I’ll spend it however I want. If you don’t like it, you can buy a chicken and take it to someone else’s house to cook. I won’t say a word to you!”

Lady Zhao gave a cold laugh.

“You know full well I can’t afford to buy one, yet you say this deliberately to rub it in. What is that supposed to be? Who doesn’t know you have money? How are we supposed to compare with you?”

Zeng Xiaoyan sniffed. “As long as you know.”

“You—!”

“Alright, enough. Both of you, stop talking,” Aunt Liang’s head was pounding. One daughter-in-law was petty, the other refused to back down.

“If you two keep quarreling like this, we’ll just split the household. Then everyone will live separately, and no one will be in anyone’s way.”

Lady Zhao’s face darkened. She turned away in resentment.

Of course, she didn’t actually want to split up—if they did, she’d lose out on all the benefits.

Zeng Xiaoyan curled her lip. She thought to herself that Sister-in-law Zhichun was right. This money-making idea definitely couldn’t be shared with anyone else. Once the door was opened, there’d be no keeping it secret. If someone like Lady Zhao found out, would she not fight for it? Would she not blab to her own family? Hmph.

That night, dinner was a big bowl of chicken soup, stretched with water and cabbage, but still delicious. There was chicken meat inside, plenty of konjac knots, and that stir-fried konjac tofu with chicken—both the kids and adults loved it.

Aunt Liang smiled.

“Zhichun’s cooking really is something. The chicken soup is so well made, and this… grey tofu and grey tofu strips are also very good.”

The second son’s two children, Liang Xiaoshuang and Liang Xiaodong, who were eleven and seven years old, were both at an age where they loved to eat. They eagerly chimed in with praise.

Zeng Xiaoyan took the opportunity to laughingly mention that she, Xu Zhichun, and Aunt Zhu’er were going into a small business together, selling this grey tofu and grey tofu strips.

Since konjac is mildly toxic, calling it konjac tofu would probably scare customers away, and explaining would be troublesome. After some discussion, the three decided to change the name.

The whole family was stunned.

Before anyone else could speak, Lady Zhao jumped in with mockery.

“Doing business? You think it’s that easy? You’re being far too naive! I bet that Lady Xu must be so desperate from poverty that she’s flailing around for any scheme. Third sister-in-law, not to be blunt, but you should have more sense. You and Aunt Zhu’er both have some spare silver—hmph—who knows what that Lady Xu is really after?”

Zeng Xiaoyan would never allow anyone to slander her close friend. Her expression cooled.

“Second sister-in-law, you’re quite the joker. I’m a grown woman, not stupid or deaf. I know very well who treats me sincerely and who doesn’t. I trust Sister-in-law Zhichun because I want to. Besides, our father-in-law is the village headman—just for that alone, Sister-in-law Zhichun wouldn’t cheat me.”

“You—!”

Aunt Liang quickly stepped in.

“Then give it a try. Since it’s your own decision, whether it works or not, you’ll bear the result yourself—no blaming others. Your second sister-in-law may sound blunt, but her reminder isn’t entirely without good intent. Alright, let’s eat, no more talking.”

In front of Chief Liang, their father-in-law, neither woman dared to act out too much. With their mother-in-law giving the word, they could only obey and quietly eat.

At Xu Zhichun’s home, when Liang Mingxuan came back from school, she eagerly pointed at the konjac tofu and konjac knots, explaining every detail.

Liang Mingxuan was stunned. Since his brother’s passing, he had grown calm and mature beyond his years—but now, seeing food made from konjac, he showed a rare childlike expression, eyes wide with surprise.

“This… this is really made from konjac?”

Xu Zhichun, amused to see him acting like a child for once, couldn’t resist pinching his cheek with a laugh.

“Of course! Isn’t your Big Sister-in-law amazing?”

The boy flushed, turning his face away to escape her hand, but nodded.

“Big Sister-in-law is amazing.”

Xu Zhichun laughed.

“Go bathe, then we’ll have dinner. After that, I still need to cook this grey tofu so it can soak. From now on, whether our family can make money depends entirely on it!”

“Mhm.”

Dinner was a clay pot chicken stew with konjac knots, reheated konjac chicken, two heads of garlic chopped and stir-fried with lettuce, and white rice.

After eating, Mingxuan, as usual, reviewed his books by lamplight. Xu Zhichun stoked the stove to cook the pre-shaped konjac tofu cubes, all cut evenly.

Since their iron pot wasn’t big, she had to boil them in batches. She thought to herself, once she earned some money, the first thing to buy would be a big iron pot to save time and effort.

Halfway through, Mingxuan came to help.

Remembering the brown sugar Zeng Xiaoyan had brought, Xu Zhichun brewed him a bowl.

“Drink this, quick.”

Mingxuan didn’t touch it, looking at her instead.

“This was for you to build up your strength. You drink it, Big Sister-in-law. I don’t need it.”

Xu Zhichun chuckled.

“Then we’ll both drink. We both need to stay healthy.”

Seeing her quickly brew another bowl, Mingxuan could only pick his up.

“Next time, you drink. I really don’t need it.”

“You still have to. If you take care of your health and get sick less, that’s also saving money, you know?”

“…”

He could never win against her—her reasoning always came in a full set.

“I’ll listen to Big Sister-in-law.”

“That’s more like it.”

She stored the brown sugar Zeng Xiaoyan brought in a coarse clay jar—about half a jin in weight—and quietly added another two jin from her space. That would last them a long time.

The cooked konjac tofu was soaked in two large buckets and a basin. Before bed, she changed the water, and again the next morning. By then, they would be ready to sell.

The next morning, Xu Zhichun had the boy write three copies of a contract. After breakfast, with the boy off to school, she took the contracts and met up with Aunt Zhu’er. Together, they went to Chief Liang’s home.

Since Zeng Xiaoyan had explained everything the night before, Chief Liang knew why they were there. After reading the contracts, he nodded.

“This is well written—covers all the details. The handwriting is good too. That Mingxuan boy is indeed promising.”

His words gave Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu’er extra confidence. The three women, feeling the importance of the moment, pressed their red fingerprints onto the papers and each carefully kept a copy.

Zeng Xiaoyan grinned.

“Shall we go?”

“Mm!” Xu Zhichun agreed.

Aunt Zhu’er smoothed her hair nervously.

“Ah, we’re really going to earn money?”

“Of course,” Zeng Xiaoyan laughed.

Lady Zhao, eavesdropping nearby, snorted with disdain.

Xu Zhichun turned to Chief Liang.

“Uncle Chief, we’d like to borrow your ox cart. We won’t use it for free—ten wen each time. How about it?”

“You haven’t even made money yet, and you’re already spending it? Forget renting—have the third son drive you. Having a man along will make things easier,” he replied.

Liang Mingliang grinned.

“Xiaoyan told me last night she wanted me to help.”

Truthfully, Xu Zhichun had been thinking the same.

“Uncle Chief, we’ll probably need it often in the future. We can’t always borrow for free. We’ll pay Third Brother Liang fifteen wen a day for his help. If it’s always for free, this business won’t last long.”